Chapter 118: Chapter 42: One Senior Brother Died, One Was Crippled

Shen Qing stared at the Water Ink Panel before his eyes, momentarily entranced.

He had not expected that right after acquiring the fifty shi bow, he could now break through in Bow Technique.

It was indeed like a pillow arriving as he dozed, perfectly timed.

Shen Qing, without any hesitation, chose to break through.

The information on the Water Ink Panel refreshed synchronously.

[Skill: Bow Technique (Level of Mastery)]

[Progress: 3/400 points]

[Status: Cannot Be Enhanced]

[Note: Through consistent practice, your Bow Technique has progressively improved. You've acquired the "Eagle Eye" ability, significantly enhancing your perception and spatial awareness, allowing you a bird's-eye view like that of a sharp-sighted eagle.]

"Eagle Eye?"

Shen Qing had not yet snapped back to reality when his entire body shuddered sharply.

Memories of practicing Bow Technique surged continually in his mind.

He looked down at the Heavy Bow he was holding, now sensing a peculiar familiarity and muscle memory that grew increasingly clear.

A moment later, after this strange sensation passed,

Shen Qing's arm muscles tensed, his little finger hooked, and he placed the dark iron Arrow on the string.

He stretched his arms smoothly, drawing the bow fully.

This sequence of movements was fluid like drifting clouds and flowing water, as if he had practiced it millions of times.

"Incredible," Shen Qing set down the bow and arrows, a glint of brilliance passing through his eyes, "Earlier, I was still slightly unskilled in pulling this Heavy Bow. Yet in the blink of an eye, there's no friction at all."

"And this Eagle Eye..."

Shen Qing closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them.

The 'Eagle Eye' ability activated.

Instantly, various scenes from the eastern part of the city appeared in his mind.

The mottled and ancient city walls, the scattered low buildings, the cluttered alleys and paths, chimneys of various heights...

These scenes continuously assembled, gradually forming a bird's-eye perspective.

At Shen Qing's will, the viewpoint moved downward.

Part of the city's east side enlarged continuously until it fixed on a small courtyard.

In this courtyard, one wall had already collapsed.

In the middle of the courtyard, a small figure holding a bow and arrow stood.

Snap!

Quickly, the image that had appeared in his mind burst like a bubble.

Shen Qing, as if awakened from a dream, looked incredulous.

"This..."

His experience with the 'Eagle Eye' ability was so miraculous that it gave him a powerful sensation of overseeing everything.

"Based on my earlier judgment, the effective range of this Heavy Bow in my hands can reach a thousand steps. If I use the 'Eagle Eye' ability in combination with this Heavy Bow, I could strike preemptively. Wouldn't that be as unstoppable as deities or buddhas blocking, and deities or buddhas falling?"

Shen Qing, looking down at the Heavy Bow in his hands, soon dismissed this thought.

"That's not right, this world has the study of Immortal Martial Arts, and those skilled in martial arts have astonishing defense capabilities. For them, the killing power of a fifty shi bow may still not be enough, and the same goes for the demons that appear suddenly. However, for others... it's sufficient."

"If one arrow doesn't do it, then I'll shoot a few more to see. Later, when my arm strength increases, I'll try the Hundred Shi Heavy Bow, Thousand Shi Bow, ten thousand shi bow... Eventually, I'll be able to shoot them all dead."

Shen Qing laughed heartily, put away his thoughts, and then walked to where the wall had collapsed, retrieving his shot arrows.

The dark iron Arrow, incredibly hard.

Despite being subjected to such tremendous force, it remained undamaged.

"It's clear that Master Ruan did not skimp on the work, the bows and arrows he made are very robust."

After collecting his arrows, Shen Qing turned and walked towards the courtyard's exit.

People in the store had witnessed his astonishing arm strength. When he appeared in the shop, their gazes naturally fell on him.

Shen Qing, feeling no discomfort, took it in stride.

He walked up to Ruan Chengbao, pulled out a silver note and smiled, "Thank you, Ruan Pottery Master. I am quite satisfied with this Heavy Bow. Here is the remaining 150 taels bow money."

Now in the Great Zhou, circulating silver notes could be freely withdrawn from the money banks.

However, different banks and different regions were not interchangeable, which limited them somewhat. Nonetheless, it saved one the trouble of carrying a heavy bag of Silver around. Read the latest stories on M-VL-em|p,yr Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Ruan Chengbao, with no thought of refusal, generously accepted it. He pointed his thumb behind toward the courtyard and asked, "What about the rest?"

Shen Qing was not annoyed and immediately pulled out a money bag, apparently carrying about fifteen taels of Silver, and said, "This is for compensating the courtyard wall and the casting of the arrows."

Ruan Chengbao took the bag, peered inside to check, and found no issues.

He pulled the strings of the bag tight, sealing it and said, "If you ever want to forge other items, just come to me. I deal fairly with everyone, young and old."

"Master Ruan's craftsmanship is superb. If I ever need to forge other items, I will definitely come here," Shen Qing promised.

Ruan Chengbao stuffed the money bag into his tunic and, without further ado, picked up the hammer and seriously started forging other iron blanks.

Shen Qing tactfully turned to leave.

The young girl who stood in the pottery shop, seeing Shen Qing departing, couldn't help walking up to Ruan Chengbao and stomping her foot, "Dad... he's gone."

"I know," Ruan Chengbao said, lifting a nearly finished iron blank with tongs and plunging it into the water.

With a sizzle, the surface of the water boiled, emitting a puff of white steam.

The girl looked puzzled.

Ruan Chengbao glanced at his daughter and said, "You're not suitable for him. I see that at such a young age he can easily draw a fifty shi Heavy Bow, so his strength alone is no ordinary martial master. At the least, he must be in the Skin Forging Realm, and possibly even in the Qi Cultivation Realm."

"What kind of woman couldn't a martial lord like him have? Although we have some family wealth, we are just a small household. They wouldn't consider us. I'll find you another handsome young man later."

As the iron cooled, Ruan Chengbao knocked off the iron filings and tossed them back into the fire to continue forging.

He watched the iron gradually turn red and mumbled to himself, "The most important thing for a person is to know oneself."

The girl bit her lip, her eyes misted with a layer of water, speechless.

...

Nowadays in Taiping County, inside and outside the city, people die almost every day. Shen Qing had moved to Taiping County and had fought several bouts.

Having killed so many people, no one from the county government had bothered him.

He gradually understood that the county government basically turned a blind eye to murder here.

Thus, his courage grew substantially.

Previously, Shen Qing, who had killed someone in the street, carried his bow and arrows, walking fearlessly on the street again.

However, some people on the street, seeing his tall and imposing figure, carrying a dark longbow, knew he was not to be trifled with and made way for him.

"Junior Brother Shen?"

As Shen Qing passed by a tavern, he suddenly heard someone calling him.

He quickly stopped and looked around for the voice, finally seeing Xiao Zhi at the entrance of a small tavern.

"Brother Xiao?"

Shen Qing looked up at the tavern, Xilai Building.

He knew Xiao Zhi was a cook, so this must be where he worked.

Xiao Zhi said in surprise, "You're still here?"

"What's wrong?"

Shen Qing was somewhat puzzled.

"I just got word that something happened to a direct disciple at Linfeng Hall. Many of our brothers have already headed over."

Shen Qing was stunned for a moment, then clasped his hands and said, "Thank you for letting me know, Brother Xiao. I'll go check it out now."

"If there's any situation, tell me in time. I will head over after finishing today's meals..."

Xiao Zhi hadn't finished speaking when he watched Shen Qing turn and run along the main street, quickly disappearing into the crowd,

About the time it took to drink a pot of tea later, Shen Qing arrived at Shengshi Square.

At the entrance of Linfeng Hall, it was surrounded by many people making a lot of noise.

People continuously gathered towards Linfeng Hall.

Shen Qing approached Linfeng Hall and grabbed a person to ask, "What happened inside?"

The man whose shoulder Shen Qing grabbed frowned and was about to get angry.

But as he turned and saw Shen Qing's towering figure, he hesitated and his frown smoothed out, smiling apologetically, "Not sure, but I heard two of Master Li's direct disciples went to hunt a tiger demon and something serious happened."

"Second Brother Niu Daping, Third Brother Dong Zizhuang? Did something happen to them?"

Shen Qing's heart stirred, and he quickly pushed through the crowd to the door, and knocked.

A Fu squeezed half his head out and, seeing it was Shen Qing, immediately let him in.

Bang.

After Shen Qing entered, A Fu quickly shut the door as if he was worried about other people pushing their way in.

"Is Master inside?"

"Everyone is."

"What exactly happened?"

A Fu hesitated, then sighed deeply and said, "Ah... you better see for yourself."

Without saying more, Shen Qing headed towards the main hall, hastening his steps.

He arrived at the location of the Linfeng Hall's main hall.

Sobs echoed from inside, and outside, a crowd of new and old disciples of Linfeng Hall gathered, forming a considerable assembly.

Shen Qing approached and saw a corpse laid out in the center of the hall; it was Second Brother Niu Daping.

Half of his body was missing, his face was a bloody mess, and the severed area faintly showed white bones and attached pink tendons.

Second Brother Niu Daping's family had already arrived, laying on his body, weeping bitterly.

Standing aside, Third Brother Dong Zizhuang, who had also gone on the tiger hunt, was no better off.

He was pale as paper, trembling uncontrollably, as if he had lost his soul.

His right eye socket was empty, missing an eyeball.

It seemed many family members of other brothers and disciples had also arrived, their cries of anguish continual.

The entire Linfeng Hall seemed as if the sky had fallen.

People like Li Lingchan, usually hard to see at Linfeng Hall, were now gathered in the hall, their expressions somber.

Slap!

Li Linfeng slammed the table and stood up, "You Guardian Martial Department owe me an explanation."

In the hall, a clerk dressed in a sable robe quickly lowered his posture and said with respect, "Master Li, calm your anger. This time, it was truly because the tiger demon was too cunning and the Ghost accompanying it too difficult to handle, which resulted in such heavy losses and the misfortune of the two disciples."

Li Linfeng said angrily, "Not just those two, other external disciples and inner sect disciples from our sect, none survived. I have enquired with other bureaus, and none has suffered losses as severe as ours. Is the Guardian Martial Department deliberately targeting my disciples?"

"Master Li has misunderstood; it was purely an accident. We divided into several teams, each with its own task. Unfortunately, this time, our Linfeng Hall brothers were unlucky to encounter the tiger demon. We were too late when we went to support," said the sable-clothed clerk, his attitude extremely sincere. After finishing his words, his posture became even more humble, "This time even the County Magistrate knows about the heavy losses you've suffered, so he's made an exception for us. If we dispatch some disciples to eliminate the tiger demon again, all expenses will be borne by our office, and those who contribute will be granted a martial title."

After finishing, the sable-clothed clerk raised his head, his eyes cautiously measuring Li Linfeng's reaction, as if he was worried his words might offend him.